It has been 10-days since the New Jersey Devils last played a hockey game. In that affair, they dropped their sixth straight game and moved to a record of 10-15-5. This has them sitting 26th in the league and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. Can the Devils use this mini-break as a restart to the start of a disastrous season?
Overviews
The New Jersey Devils were the NHL’s coldest team before the league momentarily paused. They are losers of six in a row and 10 of their last 11. Luckily, they are getting some reinforcements back. Core pieces Nico Hischier, Ryan Graves, and P.K. Subban were activated from the COVID-19 list. However, the Devils did lose Tomas Tatar to the list as well as goaltender Jon Gillies. Nonetheless, on paper, the Devils will be put out a much stronger lineup than they had before the season was paused.
The Buffalo Sabres were enduring struggles of their own before the break. Buffalo lost 11 of 12 before going 2-1-0 before the layoff. Coincidentally enough, they share the same exact record as New Jersey, 10-15-5. The Sabres have five players in COVID-19 protocols plus the team’s head coach. These five are all forwards: Jeff Skinner, Vinnie Hinostroza, Zemgus Girgensons, Dylan Cozens, and Mark Jankowski.
Tonight’s game will be televised on MSG+2. It is scheduled for a 7:00 PM ET puck drop at the KeyBank Center.
Projected Lines
New Jersey Devils –
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Buffalo Sabres –
Forwards:
Peterka/Thompson/Tuch
Asplund/Ruotsalainen/Olofsson
Murray/Krebs/Okposo
Bjork/Eakin/Hayden
Defensemen:
Dahlin/Jokiharju
Bryson/Fitzgerald
Miller/Pysyk
Goaltenders:
Luukkonen (.939 save percentage in five games played)
Subban
Who/What to Watch for?
- The Devils rank 30th in the NHL with a five-on-five save percentage of .908 this season. Goaltending is also a large reason as to why the penalty kill is not ranked much higher than it is, as the team in front of the goaltender has actually done a solid job with a man down. Regardless, MacKenzie Blackwood (72nd out of 85 goalies with a goals saved above expected of -4.11) needs to be better. Meanwhile, the Sabres projected starter, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, has saved 3.19 goals above expected this season. This is good for 20th among 85 goalies.
- The Devils reportedly did a ton of work since coming back from break on the power play in practice. We are all well-informed of how bad the unit has been this season. The above are the new groups the Devils rolled out in practice. Nathan Bastian is a bit of a surprise, but looked good in a net-front presence the last time out. Additionally, the constant rolling out of two defensemen on the second unit appears to still be the move, unfortunately. Will the new units change anything? Well, the Sabres are giving up the fourth-most expected goals on the penalty kill. So, the Devils have another prime opportunity to get the special teams unit going.
- The Sabres are one of the worst in the league at generating quality chances. They rank 29th in the league with an expected goal-for per 60 (xGF/60) of 2.14. They also only generate about 10 high-danger attempts per game which ranks 24th in the league. Unfortunately, it does not take a lot of high-danger chances to crack the Devils’ goaltenders. New Jersey ranks 31st in the league with a high-danger save percentage of .795.
This afternoon’s game is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET. It is being televised on MSG+2.